Bloodhound SSC: How The Rocket On Wheels Intends To Reach 1000 mph

By Ganesh

Published: Friday, June 6, 2014, 15:46 [IST]

Bloodhound SSC is a purpose built vehicle, driving which British Royal Air Force pilot and current world land speed record holder Andy Green, will attempt to reach 1000 mph (1600 km/h) and in the process break his own record.

The current record speed on land is 763.035 mph (1,227.986 km/h) and Green will try shatter it by surpassing it by a massive margin of 33 percent.

The Bloodhound SSC is a streamlined rocket on wheels. Powering this multimillion dollar machine will be not one, not two, but three powerplants. A Rolls-Royce Eurojet EJ200 jet engine, a Nammo HTP hybrid rocket and a Cosworth CA2010 Formula 1 V8 engine that will act as an auxiliary power unit.

While theoretically capable reaching speeds much higher than 1000 mph, the actual record run is a very complex procedure. That's because a lot of variables and constraints come into play.

Very few places on earth are long and flat enough to accommodate a ‘car' travelling that fast. For this record run, a 12 mile (19 km) and 2 mile (3.2 km) track has been created on the Hakskeen Pan in the Mier area of the Northern Cape, South Africa where a track 12 miles (19 km) long, 2 miles (3.2 km) wide has been cleared.

That distance is still not entirely safe, particularly since both ends of the track are covered in rocks, leaving zero run-off area. This means, every aspect, every second of the record run has to be carried out with predetermined accuracy.

This interesting video explains the entire process in detail, telling us how the Bloodhound SSC intends to reach 1000 mph.